What Mary has been up to ...

Mary has had a couple of fun and busy weeks.   She went to see her friend, Mady, play at her piano recital and it has really lit a fire under Mary to want to play.  We are taking this summer to teach her how to read music with a piano program called Piano is Fun.  She is doing great!

 

 

 She has finished up ballet for the 3rd year and is now on summer break for that.  These are pictures of her class and their performance for their dance recital.  She really loves it and is looking forward to starting a new class in the fall.

 

 

 

 Rich has been teaching her how to cast with her fishing pole.  We would like to take her to a lake this summer and catch some trout.

 

 

Bull's eye in the target on her second try!

 

She had a fun day at the spray park with my friend, Peggy Shroy and her grandson Adric.  She loves wearing her little dance skirts with her bathing suit.  I thought is was really cute and modest.

 She planted some holly hock seeds last year and now they are blooming.  She is so proud of her flowers.  They are a double white variety.

 

She had some fun going to the Rail Road Park here in Medford.  They are just a few blocks from us.  It is free and they have great miniature train displays and a really fun train ride for the kids and adults.

We went with some friends we met in Ballet class. They are a lovely family with 8 kids.  Their youngest daughter, Iliana, is in her class and they are enjoying looking at the miniature train display.

The 3 Musketeers, as I call them, are having fun ringing the train bell.  They are Iliana, her brother, Elijah and Mary.  So cute!  Their brother, Isaac, is in the foreground walking the other way. 

Father's Day 2013

Here is a recap of our Father's Day weekend. I feel so blessed by my Heavenly Father, my dad, my father-in-law, and my husband. They are all so wonderful in my life!

 

 

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Twenty One Years

I have a friend I have known for 21 years. I met her when her first 2 were very small and I celebrated her 3rd. She and her youngest came to visit last week and we had 3 days to visit. I see her about every 3 years now as she still lives in S. California where I met her and we know live in Oregon. I so enjoyed the time. Here is a little slide show that I had fun making of our time.

 

 

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Avocado Lovin'

For over ten years Rich and I have loved raising our avocado tree.  We call it Lazarus because it has lost all it's leaves and looked dead and came back to life.  It started out like these 2 in picture below.  We let the pits dry out after we take them out of the avocado and then we put them in water.  It takes quite a while for some of them to sprout roots.  These I think took a couple of months.  I realized when I was younger and trying to grow an avocado tree from a pit, that I gave up too soon.

 

 

Once we got it to sprout leaves and get established in the soil we cute it half way up the stem, removing all the leaves. Just a stob was left but that keeps the avocado tree from getting really tall and skinny. It was hard for me the first time. I chickened out and let Rich do it. But it paid off as it branched out and became this huge tree.  We keep it in a pot and every couple of years we take it out and trim off the roots and give it fresh soil.

 

 

 

I planted this little one and set it in front of the big guy.

 

 

 

Our Lazarus tree is looking a little stressed.  It always does when we trim the roots but in about 6 weeks it takes off and is really pretty.  We have not gotten avocados off of it but maybe some day.

 

 

 

We are thinking of letting the 2 starts in the window get leaves and get rooted well and then taking them and braiding them with this little one and see if  we can't make a braided trunk avocado.  I think it will be really fun to try!

Return of the King

We went to decorate the graves for Memorial Day.  It was so sweet the Mary wanted to help with putting the flowers in the vases, sprinkle flower pedals and read our favorite scripture verse.  I used the music from the Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King".  We played the CD in the van all the way to the cemetery.  The area we drive through is so green with lovely farm land, it just reminded of the terrain that Tolkien spoke of in the books about the Shire.  Both Rich and I had tears in our eyes.  It was a beautiful day.

 

 

 

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Music in my Mother's House

 

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Mother's Day Memories and Joys

I have a very thankful heart today and I think of all I have.  I am so very thankful for a godly and loving mother.  Who cared for me, taught me right from wrong, lead me to Christ and when I got grown was a dear friend to me.  I miss my mother very much but I know I will see her in heaven again one day and what a day that will be!

 

I am so very thankful for my very first Mother's Day being a mom.  What an amazing day that was.  Rich and I dedicated Mary to the Lord that day in church.  We promised the Lord we would raise her in the knowledge and love of Him.

 

I am so thankful for today as I celebrate with my family.  Rich gave me a beautiful bouquet of roses today and Mary wanted to pose next to them.  She is the light of our lives and makes this day so very special to me.

 

Happy Mother's Day!  I have had many happy Mother's Days, and some very sad Mother's Days, but I am so very thankful that the Lord has been with me through it all and He is my foundation, the one who is always there for me and I will never be alone because of His love.

Red and White

I have had some fun with the camera this last week. The first one is of my amaryllis and white orchid. The deep red and white contrast lead me to put the Isaiah scripture on it. The last ones are of our grapevine with the morning dew. I just loved seeing the water droplets on each point of the leaf.

Gardening

Mary loves the garden. She loves watering, digging in the dirt and seeing the plants grow and blossom. She is so happy when the weather warms up and she can go outside and play. I remember that magical feeling as a child when it warmed up enough to go barefoot and school was out and I was free!

 

 

 

Today Rich took our avocado tree out of its pot and trimmed the roots as it had gotten root bound. We trimmed the roots a couple of years a go and it just loved having fresh soil to grow into.  Mary helped him by carrying the slices of old roots and putting them in the green trash can for composting.  She expressed concern that we might be being too hard on the avocado by trimming its roots like that.  We assured her it was OK and the tree was going to benefit from it.  She has such a tender heart for growing things and wants to do the very best for them :)

 

Baking Day

This morning was baking day.  Every week I bake bread from scratch using homemade starter.  I make a refrigerator dough the night before then use it the next morning.  I think I fit sometimes into a life a hundred years ago.  I love baking bread and I love the simple things of life :)  Granted there are some great benefits we have now, but I really like the simplicity of life as it was many years ago.  When Mary woke up, I went in and kissed her on her forehead and said I have made fresh cinnamon rolls and her little face just lit up!  Homemade bread made with starter is so good for you.  It breaks down the gluten so it is easier for you to digest and is has so many healthy bacteria in it that helps your immune system and the absorption of nutrients.  I know I have much more energy now and sleep so good.  I am so thankful that Rich made the original starter and taught me how to make the refrigerator dough!  Here are a few shots of the bread, cinnamon rolls and smiles from Mary and Mackie.